Interest Inspires Importance
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day four hundred and fifty-six:  abc 9 of 26  It's a brand new year and Will is hopeful for new kids to join the ranks of New Directions.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 21st cycle. Now cycle 22!_

_**ALPHABET 2.0** - So nearly a year ago (HA!) I had done a set of stories taking inspiration by words, three for each letter of the alphabet (started with Acapella, Audition Arts in mid-February and every other day to April). Well now I wanted to do something like that, but using the alphabet another way. Instead of random words, I made sentences, all with those same letters (you'll see). There'll be 13 here in cycle 22, and the other half in cycle 24!  
**TODAY:** (9 of 26) I is for..._

* * *

**"Interest Inspires Importance"  
Will & Glee Club **

The list came from the printer, and Will picked it up, heading to the board with hope, and confidence… This was going to be their year. Maybe they hadn't won Regionals, but the way he saw it, this was only the beginning. The fact that they had made it there at all just showed so much already. There they were, in their first year together, after so many people and things had nearly pulled them apart, and they were competing with some of the best out there… This already meant so much, and now he knew it would only get better… it was a new year, and with it came the possibility for new people, new voices, to add themselves to their group. It would only make them stronger.

It did concern him that they needed at least one new member, with Matt gone, if they expected to continue being eligible for competition, but his concerns were not the same as they were the year before. They had proven themselves, and it was only a matter of time, say one whole summer, for the people to start realizing they were there to stay… so maybe those who had been uncertain before would finally take the leap and come to auditions.

At the same time, he had to admit, while he tried to make this about the kids, he did need it for himself, too. He needed one victory, to show him that all his sacrifices were worth it. Already the fact that they'd had their 'stay of execution' as a club was great, but he needed this one…

He had ideas… He was going to make this new year even better. If he had learned one thing, if he had tried to teach his kids one thing, it was that they couldn't just rest on their laurels. Sure, they hadn't won, they hadn't gone to Nationals, but he wasn't entirely sure this had been before of what they had done, as much as it was about what the judges wanted. But this was alright… The way he saw it now, they just had to blow them away this year, so much so that they couldn't deny them even if they tried. Vocal Adrenaline would probably be on the horizon for them once again, but he didn't want to go in, with the year just starting, already worrying about them… All things in due time.

And back within the school itself, he already had other things to 'worry about'… maybe. With the way things had ended with Sue last year, he honestly didn't know what to expect from her. He wanted to believe that they turned over a new leaf, and that she would actually be helpful now. Despite her methods, he had to admit underneath it all she was someone he'd benefit in having in his corner… It would be a change from having to duck around her or to always be on the lookout for her next stunt… it would make things more peaceful, and maybe they could focus some more on what they were trying to achieve instead of trying to prevent her from stopping them in their tracks.

Then, the rest of the school… the pool of potential voices… He could understand it was hard for them to step out of the crowd and let themselves be seen as an individual… It had been part of the club's struggle so far, and he imagined that wouldn't be completely gone. But he was there, and he wanted to show them it was okay to try, that they would be there, ready to welcome them, because they had so much more in common than they could realize. He had thought Sectionals would do it, but they hadn't, so they kept on trying, and now Regionals… It could be that their defeat would make things a little harder, but he had confidence. He was still getting to know and understand these kids, but he felt he was starting to get a fairly good grasp on it. He had been one of them, once upon a time, and somewhere inside him he still remembered every bit of what it was like… Things had changed, times had changed, but that feeling inside them all it was unfortunately and timelessly present. Strip away the different fashions, the different technology and music and movies and everything, and they were all still the same… whether it was in his high school years or theirs.

So he looked at this new year with complete confidence, with the aim to see his kids carry on, both the ones returning for their second year within New Directions, and those who would put their names down to join them. They'd all changed already, for the better, to one degree or another, and the best part was that they were aware of it. If they could hang on to that one spark already, then they would see that it could keep going, further and further, if they just gave it a shot.

Within all the lists for different clubs, he pinned his own… He could see it, that one kid… maybe they hadn't thought about it until then, or maybe they had but they'd just kept on walking, not thinking twice. But then that one time they would stop, and they would think 'Well, what if…' He had heard plenty from Sue and the others, about how they didn't see merit in the whole thing if he let everyone in. But what good was it for him to look at someone who had taken that leap and only make them keep on leaping, through hoops and over walls? There would always be some who were better at one thing than another, but in the end they always had a place. They were the New Directions, in every sense of the words combined, and that was not about to change… and brand new dreams were going to start on their way.

THE END

**

* * *

**

**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


End file.
